


Better Together

by Between_A_Dream (orphan_account)



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-15
Updated: 2016-08-15
Packaged: 2018-08-09 00:28:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7779631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Between_A_Dream
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sure, Garnet could stargaze alone, unfused. But she didn't want to. Because Ruby and Sapphire didn't want to. They hadn't wanted to for a long time. And honestly, why would they? Everything they did, they did as one. Because things were just better when they were together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Better Together

Ruby was fascinated by the view of the sky on Earth. On home world, the sky was never this clear. The lights and blurs of home world equipment, buildings, spires- They all blocked out the beauty that lie just above.

It was late, and Ruby didn't know what she should do at that moment. The war had ended. Countless members of their rebellion were shattered. Countless others were corrupted by the impact of home world's advanced weaponry and tactics of a strange belittling way of torture. Rose was able to save her. And Pearl. And Sapphire.

The blue gem and her had decided to spend some time unfused. Garnet had been quite traumatized during the war, and they figured they would give her a break. So now Ruby was sitting just outside the base, not quite sure what she should think or do. Only three days had passed since Blue Diamond had left Earth with the rest of her army.

The shattering of countless gems on both sides had taken a huge toll, and it was eventually decided that a single colony wasn't worth losing so many lives, especially the life of a diamond. Pink Diamond, to be exact. Ruby hadn't yet entered the world of the crystal gems when she had been shattered. It was partially because of the incident that she was called to Earth at all, with the mission to protect Sapphire.

What was Sapphire to her? They had been fused as Garnet for a long time, so now that she was alone, Ruby felt empty. She was so lost in thought that she didn't hear footsteps approaching her. "You're alone," the cool, even voice, though speaking with the gentlest of tones, made the red gem spin around, surprised at the noise.

"Oh... Uh... Yeah," she blushed a dark embarrassed scarlet and looked down.

"What are you doing?" Ruby didn't know how to answer the question. She struggled to come up with an answer, and she blurted out the first thing that came to her head.

"Stargazing!" it came out a little quicker and louder than she would've liked, but Sapphire didn't question it. Not that Ruby thought she would. She didn't question things, even now. Even with the random and countless possibilities for the future that she now saw, she didn't ever question a single one of them. Never out loud, at least. Never when they were fused as Garnet, either.

Pearl didn't understand why they had unfused. Rose had assured her they had their reasons, but if they did, Ruby wasn't sure what they were. Why _had_ they unfused? Was it because there was no actual need for them to be in such a state anymore? No, that was far too simple an explanation, and if she had learned anything over the course of the war, it was that nothing was ever simple or easy. Things, feelings, problems, lives- They were all complicated and had complicated explanations.

That line of thinking used to bother her. Black and white was a much easier way of looking at the world. Having a grey area presented too many random, confusing outcomes. It was easier just to believe that everything was a simple problem with a simple answer. But it was a lie and though she'd always known it, she had only recently begun to accept it.

"Do you mind if I join you?" Sapphire questioned. She secretly had no idea how to act around the red gem anymore. She was terrified of what the future would hold, and she could see it. But that didn't mean she wanted to accept it. Because now there were endless possibilities for the future, and accepting all of them was more stress than she realized.

She didn't know why they had unfused either. Pearl had asked her and she had told her it was because Garnet was traumatized from war. Was that the truth? Possibly. But only partially. She didn't know what to do as Garnet. She didn't know what to make of the new feelings she had. She didn't even know what to call them.

"Uh... Go ahead," Ruby scooted over, though she was leaning against a rock, and Sapphire sat down beside her. For a long while, neither gem spoke. Ruby looked down at her gem and then back at the sky.

"Do you always do this alone?" Sapphire's question caught her companion off guard.

"Well... I uh... Now I do, I guess," she mumbled nervously. How was she supposed to answer the question? And how was Sapphire supposed to respond? With understanding? With worry? With fear? Anger? She still was trying to depict which emotion was which- she'd spent so much of her life blocking them out that she didn't know what they were or how to react to them. So instead of acting, she did what she'd spent centuries before doing- burying them under the confinement of a calm, collected face.

"Oh," was all that the blue gem could muster up the strength to get out. She looked up at the sky as well. "You can see home world's Galaxy from here," she pointed out, staring at a particular cluster of stars.

"You're right," Ruby noticed them too, and felt the question burning in her chest. "Do you miss it?" she asked, looking at the gem beside her. "Home world," she then continued, taking her blue companion's silence as indication that she wasn't sure what Ruby was talking about.

Sapphire had to think about her answer. Also something she wasn't used to. Before she'd met Ruby, before she had joined the rebellion, she had always spoken and answered questions with certainty. But the red gem changed that. Garnet changed that too.

"Yes," she finally answered. "But not in a way that I would ever wish to go back," she quickly explained, not wanting Ruby to think she wanted to leave Earth.

"What do you miss?" Ruby pressed. Sapphire looked at her own gem, then at the ground.

"I miss how easy life was. How uncomplicated things were. And being able to accept the future. But now... The future is strange and different. But I think... I think I like this future better," she explained.

Again silence broke out between the two gems, and Ruby kept her eyes fixated on the stars. Moments later, Sapphire's head was on her shoulder, and she froze.

"Ruby?" her voice was so quiet that the red gem was scarcely sure she heard it.

"Yes?" she looked at Sapphire, watching as she pushed her powder blue bangs out of her face, revealing her single, bright blue eye. It sparkled in the starlight and Ruby felt her face burn with heat.

"I... Do you miss home world?" she asked. Ruby didn't know how to answer.

"No. Not at all," she finally decided just to come out and say it. "Home world was... Well, I was just a Ruby there. That's all I ever was and all I ever would be... But here... I don't know. I guess, at least during battle, I felt... I don't know... _Important_ ," she explained.

"You _are_ important!" Sapphire's sudden outburst of emotion startled Ruby, and she stared at her. "You... You're beyond important... To the rebellion, and to Rose and Pearl, and... And to _me_ ," her last few words were spoken in a soft whisper, and she avoided looking at Ruby.

"But I'm just... Me. There are tons of me and I-" Ruby didn't get to finish. Sapphire surged forward. Blue lips met red, and the world slowed down. The creatures of the night stopped their hooting and buzzing. Water stopped rushing. Stars stopped twinkling.

When they pulled apart, Ruby didn't have words. She could only stare into the captivating blue eye.

"Sapphire... I-I don't... I..." she stuttered, not sure what she was supposed to do. The blue gem had stray tears in her eye, and she clung to Ruby like she would float away any second if she didn't.

The red gem only held her back, and for what seemed to stretch on for hours the two just stayed in each other's arms.

"I miss Garnet," Sapphire whispered. "And... I miss you," she continued.

"I miss you too," Ruby stared at her. "Do you... Do you wanna dance?" she asked after a few moments. Sapphire held out her hand and the two gems stood.

The blue gem started humming softly, and for a moment Ruby forgot what she was doing. Sapphire's music always captivated her. They slowly danced in a circle, Ruby's hand on Sapphire's waist, the blue gem's on her partner's shoulder.

Their dance sped up, the two gems spinning faster and faster, not able to control their laughter. Within a few moments, Garnet was back. She now bore a visor over her three eyes, and she had star patterns over her chest.

She chuckled to herself and sat down, leaning against the rock. She stared up at the familiar sky and couldn't contain her smile. She finally had a word to put to all the emotions running through her body. It was clear to her now that what she was feeling was love.

* * *

"Alright I'm at my limit!" Peridot angrily made her way over to where Garnet sat on a hay barrel, looking up at the stars.

"Evening Peridot," she chuckled, not moving from her position and not looking away.

"Explain it to me fusion. I can at least make sense of your existence if it's for a functional purpose. But you? You're not doing anything!" the green gem hissed.

"I'm doing something," Garnet could only smile. It had been so long since she had understood fusion, that the sheer idea of someone not understanding was laughable.

"Hmm, and what's that?" Peridot rolled her eyes sarcastically.

"Stargazing," Garnet's answer made it sound simple, and really, it was.

"You can do that alone," the shorter gem pointed out.

"Don't want to," the taller gem smiled as she stared at the sky. "You can see home world's galaxy from here," she pointed out.

"You're right," Peridot noticed, and the sense of familiarity washed over the sangria colored gem.

Sure, Garnet could stargaze alone, unfused. But she didn't want to. Because Ruby and Sapphire didn't want to. They hadn't wanted to for a long time. And honestly, why would they? Everything they did, they did as one. Because things were just better when they were together.


End file.
